


Wounded

by wordywarrior



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 14:20:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19747474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordywarrior/pseuds/wordywarrior
Summary: Title: Wounded – Part 1 of 3For: @captain-rogers-beardLove All the Marvel Ships Challenge – 28 Days of LoveChallenge: #19: Patching each other upPairing: StuckyWord Count: 335Warnings: Mentions of violence, blood, swearing





	1. Wounded

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Wounded – Part 1 of 3  
> For: @captain-rogers-beard  
> Love All the Marvel Ships Challenge – 28 Days of Love  
> Challenge: #19: Patching each other up  
> Pairing: Stucky  
> Word Count: 335  
> Warnings: Mentions of violence, blood, swearing

“Ready?”

Steve gritted his teeth and turned his head, “Yeah.”

“Count of three,” Bucky told him. “One, two–”

The word ‘three’ was never said, which meant went Bucky popped the shoulder back into place, Steve was wholly unprepared for it. The combination of excruciating pain, surprise, and cringe-worthy noise the joint made when it was put back where it belonged made him let out a string of curses.

Bucky snorted, reached into the freezer, and slapped an ice-pack on his shoulder, “Walk it off.”

Steve glared at him, “You’re a dick.”

The response to that was Bucky raising an eyebrow, retrieving an alcohol-soaked gauze pad, and pressing it none-too-gently to a particularly nasty gash on Steve’s side. He hissed and clenched his fist, which succeeded in re-opening the wounds on his knuckles, and greatly displeasing Bucky.

“Out of all the fights to pick,” Bucky snarled.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“Did you really expect me to let it go?”

Bucky looked up from Steve’s battered knuckles, shook his head, and shrugged, “Seeing as you are who you are? No, I suppose not.”

“What does that even mean?” Steve demanded.

“It means you’ve never been able to walk away from a fight,” Bucky retorted as he began to dab at the multitude of other wounds. “Now, it’s almost like you get gratification out of playing the odds and beating people to shit.”

“That’s not true or fair and – for fuck’s sake, is that _really_ necessary?”

“Do you want it to get infected?”

“I doubt that’s possible given – okay, _stop_ , **_stop_**!”

Bucky tossed the gauze pads into the sink and threw up his hands, “Fine, you take care of your own damn self, then. That’s how you prefer it anyway, right?”

When no reply was forthcoming, Bucky muttered, _‘that’s what I thought,’_ reached for his jacket and helmet, and head for the door.

Flabbergasted, Steve stood up, and limped after him, “Buck, come on! Bucky!”

Bucky whirled and jabbed a finger at him, “Fuck you, Steve.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title: Warring – Part 2 of 3  
> For: @captain-rogers-beard  
> Love All the Marvel Ships Challenge – 28 Days of Love  
> Challenge: #20: Arguing  
> Pairing: Stucky  
> Word Count: 457  
> Warnings: Mentions of violence, swearing

The argument began in the threshold; door wide open, the two of them yelling so loudly, it was impossible for either side to be heard. Words said in frustration quickly morphed into a shouting match with nothing actually being heard or understood. The only thing clearly conveyed was anger and it had reached a boiling point.

Their dirty laundry was being aired for the whole building to hear and neither of them noticed the wave of protests and calls of _‘shut up’_ from their neighbors. It wasn’t until Mrs. Jenkins, the batty, old bird in B5, came out of her apartment, hit both of them with her broom, and told them they should be ashamed, that they took their argument back inside.

Bucky clenched his fists in frustration, “Do you even hear yourself? ‘He started it.’ You sound like a damn child!”

“I was defending myself!” Steve bellowed back. “Which is more than I can say for you!”

“Really? That’s how you’re going to play this?” Bucky laughed bitterly. “He didn’t grab you, Steve. He grabbed _me_ and I took care of it. I stood up for myself in my own way. You were the one blew it out of proportion and ended up in a brawl.”

“If you hadn’t been flirting with him, he wouldn’t have done it, and I wouldn’t have–”

The sound that came out of Bucky’s throat was not human, and the helmet he’d been holding onto flew across the room so hard and so fast, it left a dent in the wall.

“You don’t get to do that!” he roared. “You don’t get to have a fucking savior complex, and then, blame me for some drunk asshole’s actions! I didn’t ask to get groped and I sure as shit didn’t ask you to ride in on your fucking white horse and save me!”

Steve ran a shaking hand over his face and sighed, “I didn’t like it, okay?”

“And you think I did or–”

“No, that’s not… Buck, I _didn’t_ _like it_.”

Bucky furrowed his brow, “I don’t understand.”

“It’s one thing to see someone touch you when you want them to,” he rasped, pausing to clear his throat hard. “That hurts, but I can deal with it. What that guy did… I saw red. It wasn’t your fault and it’s not an excuse, I know that.”

There was a long stretch of silence before Bucky ran his hands through his hair, looked up the ceiling, and let out a shaky breath.

“It’s not any of your business, Steve,” he whispered.

“My brain knows that, but in here?” Steve choked out, placing a hand over his heart. “In here, you’re still mine. You’ve always been mine and you’ll always be mine.” 


	3. Waylay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For: @captain-rogers-beard  
> Love All the Marvel Ships Challenge – 28 Days of Love  
> Challenge: #21: Making Up Afterwards  
> Pairing: Stucky  
> Word Count: 722  
> Warnings: Angst, feels, smut(ish).  
> 

_“Why?”_

Steve had been so numb for so long that pain didn’t faze him anymore, but the outrage in Bucky’s voice? It cut him profoundly, deeply, and in places inside his soul only the man standing in front of him had access to. The question he’d asked came out raggedly, as if had literally been torn from his throat. It hung in the air with a weight of expectation, implication, and shock, and such a vulnerable question deserved an honest answer.

“Because we were hurting each other.”

The truth was just as painful as the question, but it hurt more to see Bucky’s reaction. Eyes screwed up tight, breath held, hands clenched into fists; it was how he looked when he was trying not to cry, and it took every molecule of willpower Steve possessed not to reach for him.

The road they traveled had never been easy, and with their paths merging and diverging so often, it was almost impossible to maintain steady footing. They’d separated and come together many times, but never long enough to stand still, or get a handle on what it meant to be more than just soldiers, friends, and sometimes lovers.

Something was always tearing them apart, but fate kept throwing them together, and in the past, that had been enough. It had been enough because having a small part of each other was better than nothing at all, but over time, things got messier, more complicated, and even more dangerous. They were each other’s strength and weakness and it threatened what little peace they’d managed to carve out for themselves. The strain of it began to impact them and it manifested in ugly, unimaginable ways.

Neither of them had asked for space, but they took it. They took a step back from each other, until they were so far away, a chasm had grown between them, and that distance had been growing steadily for months. Though it had helped alleviate the tension, it hadn’t healed them. They’d buried what was most precious, but what they’d buried hadn’t been put to rest, and it never would be.

And all it took was drunk, handsy asshole to prove that to them both.

When Bucky finally responded, his voice was tight and guttural, “There isn’t anyone else. There will never be anyone else. And I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Listen, I think–”

“Just say you’re sorry,” he interjected. “Say you’re sorry, that you don’t want me to go, and that you love me. Say it and mean it.”

Steve didn’t hesitate to say the words Bucky wanted to hear and he meant every, single one of them. As soon as he finished, Bucky declared they were done talking, dropped his jacket, and pulled his shirt over his head.

The tension the argument had raised was simultaneously erased and replaced, and after a kiss that had left them both breathing hard, Steve reached for Bucky’s pants, and lowered himself to his knees. Bucky immediately tried to reach for him, but Steve shook his head, and took him into his mouth.

“Steve,” Bucky panted. “Wait, wait…”

Steve slowly released him, looked up, and met Bucky’s eyes.

“Give this to me,” he growled. “I _need_ it. I need _you_.”

It had been so long – too long – and this was the culmination. Emotions that had been pushed away were unpacked with haste, revealing intense sensation and an unwavering passion. Possessive hands, gasping mouths, and hungry eyes gave way to scattered clothes and indulged greedy desires. Their bodies communed, making additional words and assertions unnecessary. It was sorrow and pain, craving and fulfillment, lust and love, all melded into moments that seemed to go by too fast, and yet, stretch on with no end in sight.

Satiation wasn’t achieved until hours later, but even then, in the quiet moments after, as they lay in bed and held each other, it still lingered.

Limbs tangled and body humming, Steve trailed his fingers through Bucky’s hair, and sighed contentedly. Warm, familiar, and right – that was how it felt now, and he was never letting it go, or denying himself the only man he wanted ever again.

“Can you forgive me?” Steve whispered into the darkness.

Bucky pressed a gentle kiss to the cut above his eye and nodded, “I already have.”


End file.
